


i don't wanna be a hero

by Crystalinastar



Category: Spider-Gwen (Comics), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 21:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18106697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalinastar/pseuds/Crystalinastar
Summary: Gwen doesn't need to save the world.~A Gwen character study!





	i don't wanna be a hero

**Author's Note:**

> me: alright, this WIP is all I'm gonna focus on. I've outlined it, plotted an approximate amount of chapters, we're all set
> 
> also me: well then I guess I'm gonna ignore that WIP for two months and write a 600 word oneshot instead. Yeah. Sounds good

Gwen doesn’t need to save the world.

She’s not like the other Spiders, who are compelled to help out whenever they can. The other Spiders, regardless of superpowers or tragic backstories, would still readily risk their lives to save someone else’s. She’s not like that. She can’t be like that.

She could have just as easily been a normal person, carrying out a normal life. Even now, she could. It’s not like it would be hard.

She wakes up in the morning and goes to school. She has her band (the Mary Janes, though she thinks it’s stupid to call all of them the silly and outdated name of Mary Jane) and dance, so it’s not as if she’s in need of something to do. She’s not bored enough to go out and fight crime.

Yes, she tried, in the beginning. In the beginning, it was fun. Drummers provide a steady beat, the backbone of a number, but lead singers or guitarists get all the attention. It was nice to be in the spotlight for once.

Of course, what essentially amounted to a joyride as Spider-Woman didn’t last for very long.

(Especially not when she didn’t help the person that mattered the most.)

So she started becoming Spider-Woman for real.

Gwen wakes up in the morning, and she has a preplanned outfit for the day, because she spends the extra time she has looking at local news. She’s swinging out the door as soon as band practices are over, because every second she wastes is a life she could be saving. She almost longs for lazy days, days where her heartbeat can take a moment and slow down.

Her first instinct is always to pass by and pretend it never happened. Gwen swallows that instinct down and fights with every inch of her for the good of her city. That instinct can be eaten up by her stomach acids and thrown away.

She can’t deny a part of her loves the thrill, the little rush of adrenaline you get from launching yourself into the air and landing on your feet every time. Another part of her wants to let it go, with all the lies and all the trouble. (She could definitely do without the manhunt.)

She tells herself she has to. Gwen is not just a girl in a mask. She has the capability to change lives for the better, and her selfishness be damned because she will always choose to help.

If Peter Parker sees an old lady struggling to carry goods, he will take all of them from her hands and continue despite the trembling in his aching arms. If Gwen Stacy sees an old lady struggling to carry goods, she thinks about the reward she’ll get first. But then, she’ll brush that thought off and help the lady out anyways. It’s not effortless, but she gets the same results.

In the end, that’s all that matters, isn’t it? In the end, it’s not what you think, but what you do with your thoughts.

Gwen knows intimately that not acting can cause tragedies. Day after day, she learns time-honored Spider-Lessons from the cuts and bruises she gets on the job.

It’s not gratifying. It’s not easy. Gwen carries through, because even though she’s not like the other Spiders, she is a Spider.

And everyone knows, through hardship and strife, when pushed down to the ground, a Spider always gets back up.

Gwen doesn’t need to save the world, but she wants to, and that’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> yes, I know that Peter also kinda joyrided with his powers. does Gwen know that? probably not. plus, there are so many successful Parkers in the multiverse, it's hard not to compare yourself to them. 
> 
> anyways, if you wanted to read my interpretations of Peter's and Gwen's origin stories:
> 
> in my opinion, Peter's trauma stems from how he blames himself because he was struck by a case of the Petty Emotions and it led to his uncle dying. Gwen's trauma seems to stem from her being blinded by the glory and not realizing until it was too late the impact her actions can have. so they're both super selfless, Peter because having negative emotions ever leads to disaster and Gwen because when she doesn't pay attention to others, things go to shit. (this is, of course, based on the wikis and YouTube videos about these characters, because I am a broke high school student.)
> 
> Please give kudos and comments if you liked!!


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